Will you answer yes?
by Bebbe5
Summary: The thoughts of Balthazar, just before Dave arrives in the Arcana Cabana. Song fiction based on L'apprendista Stregone  The Sorcerer's Apprentice  by Angelo Branduardi.


**N/A: Hello everyone. A few days after I saw "the sorcerer's apprentice" at the cinema, it popped in my mind the idea of a song fiction based on the lyrics of a song written by my favourite singer, Angelo Branduardi: so I wrote it and published it on an Italian website. Then I decided to translate it for this website and I want to do an experiment: I've translated not only the fiction, but also the song, so that it's "singable" (does this word even exist?) in English too. I posted my translation with the original lyrics next to it. Let me know what do you think of it please.**

**Hope you like it**

**WILL YOU ANSWER YES?**

Thousands years have passed by now. Centuries of research, fatigue, sleepless nights, but also regrets, anger and solitude.

Once, when the eagerness of finding the Prime Merlinian was flowing in my veins like incandescent fire, I kept everything at hand: the ring, the Encantus, the Grimhold… her necklace. Now everything is lying in a secret drawer, in the basement of this shop which I rented to increase my cover.

Not that somebody would believe to my story, the world nowadays is too much skeptical, too much used to fictitious fantastical worlds and too much immature to believe to what it has in front of his eyes.

Anyway, even the obtuse, very common human beings who can use just the 10% of their brain would notice a strange guy like me, who wanders on the streets stopping kids and asking them to touch a dragon shaped jewel just to see if it will react at their contact. To draw the attention on me is the last thing I need, then only a Morganian looking for troubles in order to free his mistress will be missing.

I can't allow it.

Not now, at least.

It will come the moment when the heir of Merlin will try to defeat that witch. It will come the moment when I'll be finally able to see again the woman I love, Veronica.

I slam my fist on the round.

How many times I've felt powerless.

How many times I've been on the verge of opening the Grimhold, wanting to try beat those Morganians and Morgana herself. The only thing that has stopped me is the blind faith in my mentor. If he had said that only the Prime Merlinian will be able to defeat our deadly enemy, then I just can follow his last will and find this blessed boy.

_With my hot vulcan breath I will erase Col mio soffio di vulcano cancellerò  
>the freezing coldness in this room il gelo di questa stanza<br>like an arrow flying fast I'll be released e col volo di una freccia trafiggerò  
>and I'll cut through that far away moon quella pallida luna a distanza;<em>

More than once I've asked myself: what's the pur pose of knowing how to create fire from nothing, to erase the chill of a winter night from a room, to alter the objects so that they allow me to go far away, even to reach the moon if I want, if I can't save the ones I love?

_I'll be there or I won't ci sarò e non ci sarò,  
>I will keep on continuerò<br>doing this invisible dance la mia invisibile danza, _  
><em>I will be as light as air, leave no trace on snow senza tracce sulla neve lieve sarò,<br>will you answer "yes" or will you answer "no" mi dirai di sì o mi dirai di no._

But, even in these moments of dark despair, the light of my mission, of my duty, has always pushed me, like an overwhelming music, to travel through every land, in an unbridled dance with time, that everytime took the heir of Merlin away from me, before I could find him.

Both of us had always seemed to posses the gift of invisibility, none of us has ever left a sign, a record in the memory of the world, none of us has ever left a trace.

My biggest question, though, has never been:

"Will I be able to find the boy?" or

"Will I be able to defeat Morgana?" or even

"Will I be able to see Veronica again?" No, I trusted and still trust my mentor, that's why I'm more than sure that I'll see her again.

My biggest unknown, that still torments my nightmares is "Will Veronica return my feelings?"

_I'll let the silence express my voice Avrà il silenzio la voce che ho,  
>I'll have hands long enough e mani lunghe abbastanza,<br>it'll be of waiting or understanding though sarà d'attesa e d'intesa, però  
>I will learn what I don't know saprò quello che ancora non so.<em>

_I'll learn what I don't know quello che ancora non so_

I'm already imagining the moment of our meeting. Silence will be enough for us to tell everything to each other. My hands will finally decorate her neck with the jewel I bought for her a thousand years ago. Moment of expectation and of small gestures will flow, and only we will be able to understand their meanings. Finally I will have the answer that I have longed and still feared for.

_Will you anwer yes or will you answer no mi dirai di sì o mi dirai di no,_

_With the heart of a pencil I will correct Col mio cuore di matita correggerò  
>the mistakes made by the time gli errori fatti dal tempo<br>with a vigil guardian step I will check e con passo di guardiano controllerò  
>That it stops or goes slower than line che si fermi o che avanzi più lento;<em>

If someday I met someone in the streets and, in a surge of madness, told them my whole life; if that someone didn't start laughing or screaming; if that someone actually believed me and knew something about us sorcerers, probably they would say:

"Why, when you have the power to rewrite the events, don't go back and change them? Why don't you remedy to the mistakes made by the time?

Why don't you check that it doesn't run too fast and that allow us enough space to live?"

I would answer:

"I have this power, as you are fairly making me notice, but I don't have the autorità to use it. Life is beautiful because it flows quickly and because we barely manage to sense it. Because it's made of regrets, but also of momentary joys, that impress themselves in our memory and can't be lived anymore, because they would lose all their greatness."

I know something about this, I've lived for more than a thousand years. My existence had been dotted by a few moments of light. Veronica, Merlin, and thousands more that had followed one another during the centuries. It's true, I had suffered a lot when they had left this world, forever or just temporary, but certainly it had been worth knowing them.

_I'll be there or I won't,to you I'll talk ci sarò e non ci sarò, ti parlerò  
>with every fragile accent con ogni fragile accento<br>On the snow I'll be a trace, I'll be the snow e sarò traccia sulla neve, neve sarò,  
>will you answer "yes" or will you answer "no" mi dirai di sì o mi dirai di no.<br>I'll be the ink on your manuscript Sul manoscritto l'inchiostro sarò  
>I'll be like black on plain white e mi avrai nero su bianco,<br>whether from cards or from eyes I don't know saranno gli occhi o i tarocchi, però  
>but I'll learn what I don't know saprò quello che ancora non so;<br>I'll learn what I don't know quello che ancora non so_

_Will you answer "yes" or will you answer "no" mi dirai di sì o mi dirai di no._

I live everyday not really thinking about about the happy time I had spent with Veronica, but more about the one we will spend together, once she will be free. I'll tell her how I feel, in every tongue if necessary. I'll write it for her, if she wants, I'll put myself black on white.

I'll be very careful with my movements, because I know that they won't be useful in order to express my love for her. And it will be only then, not before, not by using cards or absurd forecasts, but only my look, that I'll know whether you, dear Veronica, will accept me or not.

_You'll be lonely in your Sun Sarai sola nel tuo sole  
>or I'll be alone o solo sarò,<br>will you answer "yes" or will you answer "no" mi dirai di sì o mi dirai di no,_

When we will arrive to the final battle, I swear I will do everything in order to save you, my gentle friend,. Even if I had to suck the soul of that cursed witch in my body, like you did, a thousand years ago, saving me. Should things go wrong, or you'll remain alone, bright star, enlightening this dark word, even if with a sad flame, or I'll be the one who will be once more without your sweet company.

These are two alternatives I don't even want to think about. Because I'm sure that everything will be fixed, that the Prime Merlinian will win and that finally we will be able to live the existence we've always dreamt about.

The sound of the bell at the entrance door brings me back from my thinking. I go in the entry and find a ten years old boy or so whose wandering in the shop, apparently looking for something. He sees me, jolts and then, babbling, starts to explain that he's come to take back a yellow piece of paper that, because of a coincidence, has ended in here.

I smile.

I'm no longer believing in coincidences.

Maybe, my waiting is finally over.

**THE END**

Link to the song

/watch?v=HkvvxCoriHo

Well, this is it.

Hope you liked it

Bebbe5


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